General manager at PD Ports Roy Merryweather, logistics manager at PD Ports Jen Taylor, integrated management systems director Sharon Smith, director portcentric logistics at PD Ports Ian Johnson, managing director at Barrett Steel Richard Gawler, group operations director at Barrett Steel John Childs, director at Barrett Steel Andy Warcup, and group purchasing director at Barrett Steel Guy Barrett
PD Ports is delighted to be supporting valued customer Barrett Steel through an exciting period of growth with the build of a 200,000sq.ft. dedicated steel distribution centre at its Groveport site in North Lincolnshire. This marks the start of a new long-term contract that will take the partnership into 2040 and beyond.
The £10 million facility will not only support the expansion of Barrett’s footprint on the Humber but will be further boosted by additional investment from the port operator to double the size of its dedicated transport fleet. Together, this will strengthen Barrett’s national distribution network and allow for just-in-time deliveries to be made across the UK.
Groveport, a 190 acre site and the largest in PD Ports’ Humber Cluster, has continued to act as a central steel distribution hub for longstanding customer Barrett Steel and serves as the ideal location for the new facility, the port group’s largest investment on the Humber in decades.
Geoff Lippitt, Chief Commercial Officer at PD Ports, was delighted to announce the project. He said: “The new Barrett Steel facility is a huge milestone for PD Ports at Groveport. This marks the largest single piece of investment in the site since we first acquired it back in 2015 and demonstrates our intentions to position Groveport as the UK’s leading steel handling hub for steel sourced both domestically and internationally.”
The state-of-the-art warehouse has also been instrumental for both parties in continuing to realise their shared sustainability targets – it is the first building in the UK to be constructed in ‘XCarb’ steel – steel made using 100% recycled content and 100% renewable energy – supplied by fellow PD Ports customer, ArcelorMittal. It is also primed to be upgraded with the addition of solar panels in the future.
Geoff added: “As a business, we are constantly striving to reduce our industrial impact on the environment and have ambitious decarbonisation targets to reach net zero. This innovative warehouse is a fantastic example of how we can utilise lower carbon materials in order to reduce emissions across the supply chain.”
As a proud, sixth generation family-owned business, Barrett Steel has been a leading steel stockholder and processor for over 150 years with a rich heritage. With over 30 sites nationwide, this new facility is a huge mark of intention from the company to remain at the forefront of the UK steel industry.
Guy Barrett, Group Purchasing Director at Barrett Steel, commented: “This new facility will increase our capacity and ability to offer a just in time solution for steel fabricators across the UK.
“Being able to deliver the project using a low embodied carbon, the first of its kind in the UK, not only demonstrates our commitment to our own net zero goals but also showcases a tangible solution to the questions around sustainability currently facing the industry.
“We are delighted to be continuing our longstanding relationship with PD Ports on this ground-breaking project.”
